Dog-Dog Aggression

This was an article we wrote that was published in the Ahwatukee Foothills news last week that I wanted to share with you. We were asked to write about an incident that happened when a pit bull got loose and attacked a small yorkie. It was and still is a very heated issue and there was a lot of editorials being written that were very one sided and opinionated. An incident like this can have much more to the story than any of us know, but I hoped that this would shed a little more objective light on the story.



Nora was mauled and is severely traumatized, Nick is severely traumatized, Christene Meyers was injured, faces mounting medical bills, and is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Jamie Delluomo is most likely grief and guilt stricken and Pumpkin lost her life. Nothing any of us say will take away any of the pain, the grief, or the guilt. Our hearts go out to Christene, Nora, Nick, Jamie and to Pumpkin. We would like to provide some insight from a behavioral perspective as it relates to unfortunate incidents like this one. There are many possible scenarios and explanations that one could surmise from the accounts that have been written about this horrible event so we hope to provide a neutral explanation of why these things can happen.

Dog - dog attacks can be caused or created in many different ways. First off, our beloved dogs have come to us through thousands and thousands of years of evolution from wolves. They still carry many traits that have been passed on to them from their ancestors. There are many scenarios that can cause a dog to attack another. There’s barrier or territorial aggression. Two dogs that have been barking at each other through a fence or a window for a prolonged period of time can build up an unexpressed anger or resentment towards one another that can result in a severe fight or attack if they are ever able to reach one another. Some dogs develop leash aggression; they exhibit aggressive barking and snarling while on leash but do not exhibit any signs while off leash. Lack of socialization is one major cause of dog – dog aggression. If a dog is not socialized properly by the time it reaches 6 months old, it can create a fear of other dogs which can then turn into aggression. Some dogs have higher prey drive (predatory drive) and running, barking or squealing will spark that instinct to chase and attack. We see pack mentality take over at dog parks quite frequently. One scared dog will start running away from another dog and within seconds all the dogs will join in the chase and the sweetest most social dogs can and sometimes do attack the fleeing dog. This is just a fraction of the psychology behind dog – dog aggression.

Some dogs are more prone to dog aggression but in our experience we do not feel it is breed specific. We have seen dog aggressive dogs in just about every breed out there; breeding, socialization, individual temperaments, how a dog is raised and training all play a part.